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Frank Lampard's history-making start to life with Coventry City came to an abrupt end against one of his former clubs. The Sky Blues were beaten 2-0 by Lampard's ex-side Derby County on Tuesday night, in a bitter blow to their recent momentum. Under Lampard, Coventry had been on a run of five wins in a row and nine wins from their last 10 matches. That was an achievement that they had only previously managed in September 1954 when they were in the Division 3 South. That meant that their recent form was officially declared their best-ever run of results, however that came to an end at Pride Park. Matt Clarke and Marcus Harness got the goals for Derby, a crucial double in their battle to avoid relegation. The Rams have now recorded back-to-back wins having beaten John Eustace's old club, Blackburn Rovers 2-1 at the weekend. It's the first time that Derby have recorded back-to-back wins in the Championship since September. Victory for the Rams puts them just one point from safety in the Championship table with nine matches remaining. As for Coventry, they remain in the top six as a result of their incredible recent run. Lampard will be desperate to get the Sky Blues into the play-offs after taking charge of the club in November with the club 17th in the second division. Of course the Chelsea legend has previous with the play-offs, having led Derby to the Play-Off Final in 2019 only to be beaten by Aston Villa at Wembley. Speaking after the game on Tuesday, Lampard tried to keep positive despite Coventry's great run coming to an end. He said: “Not a terrible performance. It was a difficult game for us. "Conceding the set-piece was an obvious disappointment for us because Derby are strong at them, a big team who play for them a lot, so I was disappointed with that. “It wasn’t for the want of trying from the players. It was a tough pitch and the goal gave them something for them to hold onto. "They are fighting. And off the back of the run we have been on, you have to understand that these nights can come. "I think we have to be very balanced about that and as much as it’s not nice, it’s not realistic to keep winning, winning, winning. “So my first thought is the reaction for Saturday coming. ” That game comes away at Plymouth Argyle at 3pm. When asked if he thinks his side need to instantly move on from a rare loss, Lampard added: “Yes, I certainly do. "At a place like this they are very aggressive and the ball is in the air a lot and transitions are a big thing for them. "You can lose it where you feel the players are not quite at it in terms of application but I didn’t feel that. From having control in the first 20 minutes the tide turned a bit with the goal. " He continued: “There are obviously things we want to do better but, again, we have to be realistic in the big scheme of things from where we were to where we are now is a big, big positive. "And one negative result, I am certainly not going to sit here and criticise the group because they are the reason why we have had this amazing run. And we’ll just have to go again. ” After mixed spells with Chelsea and Everton in the Premier League, Lampard had been hoping to rebuild his managerial reputation at the Coventry Building Society Arena. Despite their defeat to Derby, Lampard's record is pretty impressive. Since replacing Mark Robins in November he has led Coventry in 22 matches, winning 12, drawing four and losing six. © 2025 talk SPORT Limited

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